Chapter Seven

It had been a long day for Marnie. Between jokers and bullies, homework and slutty teachers, arrogant students and harassment, she wished she had died in that car accident with her mom, or not had it happen at all. Her mother's death was the reason she and her father had moved out to New York. He couldn't raise Marnie all by himself, so they moved in with Julee so she could help out. The headmaster of the school had even been generous to give Logan a job as gym supervisor. Generous to help destroy her life.

She lay lifelessly on the couch. Her head propped up by one arm, the other holding the remote control for the TV, flipping thru different channels, trying to find something worth watching.

".Today in the news, mutant terrorist, Magneto, holds a US naval ship and it's crew at bay."

".He's a pretender-he can do or become anything he wants to be."

"Scooby-Dooby-Doooooooo!"

".the wild gazelle never heard the pack of lionesses stalking them."

"I choose you, Pikachu!"

".Lucy! You didn't!"

".T minus 10.9.8.7."

"M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!"

"Hey anybody! I'm home!"

The last comment did not come from the TV. It came from the front door. The sound of jingling keys and the door shutting accompanies the shout, to which Marnie replies dully, "Hey Jules."

Julee puts her bag away and finds Marnie, still laying lifelessly on the couch. She pulls her knees into her to allow her feet to move so Julee has a place to sit. She still flips thru the various channels. "Hey Marns," Julee said. "Dad home yet?"

"No."

"How was school?"

"Awful."

"Was it as bad as ya thought it was gonna be?"

"Worse."

"Why?" Julee asked, concerned. "What happened?"

"I'm in a new school, with new people, no friends an'." Marnie trailed off.

"And what?"

Marnie hesitates. "An' without Mom ta tell me everythin's gonna be alright."

The siblings sit in a moment of silence, trying to hold back their tears over their deceased mother. Julee broke the mold first. "Anything else happen?"

"Some kids kept tellin' me that dad was some flamin' super hero an' had claws and stuff," Marnie said a bit too casually. "I told 'em otherwise an' they called me a liar."

The doorbell rings. Julee rises to answer it. She opens the door and sees a blonde boy standing before her. "May I help you?"

"Uh.Yeah," he said. "Does a Marnie Fox live here?"

"May I ask your name?" Julee asked in her secretarial voice.

"Sure."

Julee looks at the kid sideways. "Your name is 'Sure'?"

"No," the boy responded. "You asked if you could ask my name. I said ya could ask."

Julee looks at the kid like he's from outer space. Then it hits her. "Oh! I get it! 'May I ask your name?' Ha! I'll hafta use that one! So what *is* your name?"

The boy smiles. "Kyle."

"Okay," Julee says. "One moment please." Julee turns her head back in the direction of the TV room. "Marnie! There's a Kyle here for ya!"

"Comin'!" Marnie calls from her place on the couch. She gets up and walks to the front door. Julee leaves, all the while giggling over "May I ask your name?" "Hey," Marnie says nonchalantly.

"Hey," Kyle mirrors back.

"Whaddya want?"

Kyle sighs. "I'm bored. I have no homework and no friends and nothing to do and." He sees Marnie just nodding and smiling away. Kyle grows embarrassed. "And I probably sound really desperate right now."

Marnie continues to nod and smile. "Sure do, pal!"

"I guess I'll go, then," Kyle says as he begins to walk off.

"Wanna hang?" Marnie says clear out of the blue.

Kyle turns around, his green-blue eyes lit up. "Read my mind!"

Marnie shouts into the suite, "Hey Jules!"

A muffled, "Yeah?" comes from the TV room.

"I'm gonna go hang with Kyle," Marnie tells her sister. "Tell Dad I'll be back by nine!"

"Kay! Have fun!" the muffled voice says.